- an incorrect term used to describe a
relationship bewteen two
people from different
ethnic groups.
The Concept Of Race
"Modern humans present very low levels of
biological variation, that is not easily categorized.We're not that different compared to other species (dogs, chimps, gorillas). All dogs--from chihuahuas to great danes--are capable of interbreeding (therefore, they comprise a
single species). Thus, the great morphological
variation is not related to
reproductive isolation." (1)
Many of the
definitions regarding race began in the late 1700's as a response to miscegenation - or the mixing of blood between two different ethnic groups. At that point in history, humans could be considered
chattel. Therefore, it was
economically important to slave owners to determine the
condition of the
child of a union between two people of different colors. For example: if the father was the owner of the mother AND inheritance is based on patrilineal lines, then the child of that union could contend for the right to inherit the father's estate. This was a terrifying
concept. It had to be decided in court whether products of miscegenation would be
free,
slave or servant for a period of years. A notable case includes the
one drop rule.
The term race assumes that
members of different ethnic groups are not
human. This was a critical concept until slavery was abolished. Many of the
slave owners manuals at the time assumed that people of
African decsent and other
people of color were
less than human or not human at all. This made it more acceptable to own them. (This may be why
slavery was called
The Peculiar Intstition, it was riddled with
paradox and
contradiction. For example, if a master slept with a slave woman, this was not considered
bestiality. On the other hand, offspring of such unions were considered racially improved - smarter, more human, more capable - and sometimes accorded more
rights and
privileges.
If one assumes that there is a
human race, then various
ethinic groups are variations on one race - human. Race is a
construct employed by the
dominant culture to seperate and divide different ethnic groups.
Interracial marriages were illegal in most states until July 12, 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws forbidding interracial marriages. This case was called
The Loving Decision. (Loving VS Virginia, 1967) A White man and a Black women had married in another state and moved back to Virginia where they were charged with violating
state law.
Current Perceptions
Excerpt from http://www.udayton.edu/~race/04needs/s98alouis.htm,
Nacy John Alouise, The University of Dayton School of Law, Spring 1998.
"We are now approaching the 31st year of the Loving decision and views on interracial marriage have improved. In 1991 a Gallop Poll found that, for the first time, more people in the United States approved of interracial marriages (48%) then disapproved (42%).6 Also the number of interracially married couples in the United States has gone from 150,000 couples in 1970 to 1.1 million in 1994 and the number of children born out of interracial marriages jumped from 460,300 in 1970 to 1.9 million in 1994.7 Furthermore, a Gallop Poll indicates acceptance for interracial marriages is growing. Sixty-one percent of White Americans are more likely to approve of such marriages today, compared to 4% in 1958.8 In addition, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in fifty marriages are interracial which is four times the number compared to 1970."
(1)http://ampere.scale.uiuc.edu/anth102/lect23.html